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About me

Am a contradiction of sorts. i love going out and having a good time with friends, and i can also stay home chill out over a book or a movie..

Am very passionate about writing, so give me a topic and watch me float away into wonderland... Love reading books- sometimes i read 3books simultaneously, crazy about music- need it all around me, all the time and ofcourse, i totally am ga ga goo goo over my 7yr old naughty brat- Floppy!! errr, Prince Floppy!! :)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Listening to the incessant rains outside our room, the three of us lazed about, wondering if the Sun ever shone in this part of the country, and what our day was going to be like. It was the last day of our holiday, and we were in Kovalam, The Swagath Hotel..

After a bit of dilly dallying, we managed to get our act together, get dressed and head out towards the Padmanabaswamy Temple in Trivandrum.

Located in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) half a km from the railway station is the 5000 year old Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Divya Desam, where the gigantic Lord Anantha Padmanabhan is seen in a Bhujanga Sayana Kolam.

As the van pulled into a lane near the temple, i noticed this water hydrant on the side walk. I had never seen one of these before in our country, and it had me curious. I asked our cab driver what it was, and what the purpose was, alas, he had no clues what it was.

Fascinating the things you see when you are travelling....

Looked like it has survived quite a bit of time, the year on this thing said 1950. I wish there was someone who knew what it was and the story behind it...

Friday, November 26, 2010

During our 2nd day at the resort, we were walking along a slushy path towards the coir village, to watch a few women and maybe the learn the trick of making coir threads from coconut fiber. A few steps ahead, my friend M was walking, her camera ready to capture anything interesting. i was trailing behind her when suddenly she drew to a halt and motioned me towards her with a finger on her lips.

M: Aarti, look there it is again. the common crow... They seem to be romancing ... :)

Me: oh yes, how pretty...

Ani who was walking ahead with her son exclaimed.. 'hello, we see the common crow all over back home, what is wrong with you both"[giggles]

Me: Ahem, Ani, this is not a crow... this is a butterfly di..

A: Oops.. my bad, was wondering why you girls are gushing over the boring crow... :)

The Common Crow is a glossy black butterfly with brown underside and little white marks along the outer margins of the wing. The wingspan is about 8-9 cm and the body also has prominent white spots that you cant miss.

Wiki: It is found everywhere in India, right up into the mountains till 8000 feet. Occasionally it swarms in the low, wet jungles of South India due to the abundance of its food plants which are spread over three orders of plants.

We saw quite a few of these beauties over the next few days in Kerala, apart from few other varieties...

All planning done
Everything has been sorted out [almost]
Only thing that remains is we pack our bags and scoot...

This is yet another 1st of sorts..A vacation with high school girl pals, one that we have been looking forward to for years now. Dont care much for the places, facilities, but we know we are going to have a blast!! After much deliberation, a destination was finalised, tickets booked and the train is ready to take us away in a day's time!!

Till about an hour ago, i was happily going about the day thinking the train journey was set for Sat-13th Nov Night, and a phone call from V broke that spell... We are off tomorrow night...

Where?
Well, that is going to remain a mystery, atleast for those who dont know.... Here is a sneak peek to where....

Monday, November 8, 2010

It had been 10years since my last visit to Ooty,and memories came flooding as the bus reached Ooty. While waiting for a ride to take me to the YWCA[charring cross], my mind began wandering listening to the conversations floating in the air from the group standing next to me. They spoke about going boating, to a thread garden and then to Coonoor.

It was the month of May, Chennai was crazy hot and Ooty was so cool and windy... I knew i was going to love the 5days there... The room i stayed in was within walking distance from the gardens and so that was where i headed the 1st day... Grabbing a sandwich and coffee at Cafe Coffee Day, armed with my camera and wallet i made my way to the Botanical garden

This Botanical Garden was laid out in 1847 by the Marquis of Tweedale and is spread over 55 acres. Lush green well maintained lawns, rare tree species (like the cork tree which is probably the only such tree in India, the paper bark tree and the monkey puzzle tree - monkeys cannot climb this tree), a 20 million year old fossilized tree, an Italian-style garden bordering a clear pool, a vast variety of flowering bushes and plants in myriad hues (exotic and ornamental), fern house with a vast range of ferns and orchids, are some of the many highlights of this garden

The beautiful horse cart that stood at the entrance of the garden....

The infamous India Map....

I walked for nearly 2hours and i knew i had seen not more than 30% of the park, that is how vast this garden was..... There were people everywhere, some were wandering about, while others had plonked to rest their feet or grab some lunch. It resembled a picnic spot of sorts... Ofcourse not to forget the zillions who wanted their picture taken near every tree, pond and the various canopies... Was quite amusing....

As i was walking around the garden, a lady called me over asking if i would take a "picture" of her and her husband near a plant.. I obliged and did the same... She then went on to tell me how they were newly married and in Ooty for their honeymoon... A few minutes later, she stared at me as if waiting for a similar story from my end...

"I am actually here on work, and had a free day, so came to visit the gardens"i replied.. The husband was stumped- i literally saw his mouth gape open... "You have come alone? How.. Why.... "... Managed to wiggle out of there after muttering a few sentences, which i could see had them puzzled... Luckily, the phone rang and i escaped the eyes of the newlyweds!! :D